Industry West said Wednesday it will open its new San Marco showroom and headquarters to the public March 29.
The e-commerce company describes itself as a “leader in providing a progressive, tastefully curated collection of modern furniture.”
Co-founder and CEO Jordan England said in a news release that the company finds new items from around the world and connects with its trade partners and customers to create spaces specific to them.
It serves restaurants, hotels, high-tech startups and residences throughout North America.
The 4,300-square-foot space at 1407 Atlantic Blvd. will serve as a base for Industry West’s sales team, design consultants customer service representatives and senior leadership.
The showroom area will allow customers to browse and buy a rotating selection of items from the company’s collection, “while providing trade professionals with a location to work with the Industry West team on new projects,” said the release.
The company was founded in 2011 and has announced partnerships over the past year with Sol&Luna, Karpenter, Serax, We Do Wood and Fundamental Berlin. Those products will be on display in the showroom.
England bought the building, which formerly was Stellers Gallery, with a partner in mid-April and renovated it. Industry West moved from rented space at 1538 Hendricks Ave., next to Hightide Burrito Co.
“It’ll be a very different space than it is now,” England said in May as workers were demolishing the interior of the gallery space. Stellers moved to a location along Philips Highway.
England and his wife, Anne, a co-founder, said the business and most of its 12 employees would move to the San Marco Square location.
In May, England said the new Industry West headquarters would feature a showroom, retail space and a meeting room in the front portion, including iPads for customers to browse the extensive catalog, and an open workspace and lab-studio in the center and offices along one side for staff.
It all started because the young couple, married in 2005, needed some dining chairs and couldn’t find what they wanted at a favorable price.
In 2009, the couple lived in Beaufort, South Carolina, and began looking for dining chairs for their new home.
Jordan connected with manufacturers and found the chairs they wanted.
The idea struck: Identifying the best furniture for individual and corporate needs could be a business.
If they loved those chairs, why wouldn’t others? They figured that people wanted quality furniture without having to spend thousands.
They registered England Trading Co. LLC with the state in 2011. They had returned to Jacksonville, where they had lived for a while a few years earlier.
“Industry West” was chosen because it represents the entrepreneurial spirit and the creativity of the people and companies they want to foster.
As of May, they leased space in a 68,000-square-foot warehouse space at 4011 Morton St. in Southside and a 60,000-square-foot distribution center in California, where they have many clients.
About five years ago, they moved the office into the Hendricks Avenue space after being home-based.